True Love

For six and a half years, Stanley was our number one. John brought him out in a little basket for Christmas in '05, and ever since then he's been one of the biggest loves of our life. I mean how could you not love this little guy?!

Over the years, he's gotten a bazillion treats, too many dog toys, birthday celebrations, Christmas stockings, long walks, daily dog park visits when he was young and rambunctious, shoes for long hikes, etc. etc. He's the most loyal and wonderful friend John and I ever had, and there were many times we could be overheard talking about how overwhelming it is to love an animal this much.

I swear Stanley knew I was pregnant before we did. Early in my pregnancy he could be found sprawled across my stomach and later laying his head on my growing bump.

We never worried about introducing Charlie into Stanley's life because he's always been great with kids. Super interested and lovingly laid back. He's even been known to take a little bit too much of an interest in their diapers. Ugh. 



We did make an effort to make the transition as smooth as possible. We tried not to get too frustrated when Stan would emerge, yet again, with one of Charlie's new stuffed animals, we let him smell all over Charlie's new clothes, and before we left the hospital, we made sure we had one of Charlie's hospital blankets to lay in his bed so he could get use to Charlie's new smell.

When we got home, Stanley was definitely more excited to have us home than he was interested in the little guy we brought with us. He smelled him, laid on Charlie's hospital blanket and followed us around when we got up for feedings or made laps around the house calming Charlie down, but overall, he was tolerant and randomly interested. I knew Stanley would eventually love Charlie really because we love Charlie, and he always just kind of follows our lead. But I didn't want to push it with either of them. I'm not sure my heart was prepared for their love though. John was about to walk out the door for work this morning when Charlie woke up, so he scooped him up and laid him in bed with Stanley and me. Charlie immediately dozed back off to sleep (little ninja!), and the next thing I knew Stanley was pawing at me to get under the covers. I let him under and surprisingly, instead of heading down to my feet, he circled around and squeezed in between me and Charlie. My heart practically exploded as they both snuggled in and drifted off to sleep. Looks like Stanley's as much in love as we are, and Chuck doesn't seem to mind.